Proptech consolidation continues to be one of the most common themes we hear from office owners and operators. Specifically, property management operations are a key focus for several reasons.
First, the solutions the industry has relied on in the past have grown static and take a "one-size-fits-all" approach. Furthermore, 40% of tenant executives say recurring maintenance issues and a lack of communication are the top causes of frustration with building owners. When a tool for work orders and maintenance is table stakes to operate a building, it’s clear that yesterday’s tools are not meeting today’s tenant needs and expectations.
Why Configurability Matters
VTS has invested significantly in research to solve these gaps. With VTS Activate, your teams manage everything—work orders, preventive maintenance, invoices, and communications—in one simple app.
But there’s one feature that truly sets Activate apart: Configurability. > What does configurability mean? Activate is as simple or powerful as you need it to be. Your tech adapts to your building; your building doesn't adapt to fit your tech.
Permissions – Go for the Goldilocks Effect
Activate gives you the control to create functionality-based permissions. You decide which teams have permission to view, create, edit, or delete practically anything in your app.
How our customers use configuration to simplify workflows:
- Submission Control: Limit work order submissions to property managers or open them to all tenant users.
- Editorial Oversight: Ensure only supervisors can reassign service requests or maintenance tasks.
- Financial Integrity: Restrict who can modify billing, exemptions, charge codes, or invoices.
- Vendor Experience: Curate a portal for vendors that hides sensitive building information.
Smarter Work Order Requests
Nothing slows down property teams like a "back-and-forth" to get the details of a service request. Activate lets you collect the right information the first time:
- Pinpoint Locations: Configure issue categories so teams know exactly where and what needs servicing.
- Custom Questions: Use open text, checkboxes, or dropdowns to gather specific data.
- Visual Proof: Allow tenants to attach photos or files to their requests for better preparation.
Scheduled Maintenance is Just Right
Your equipment is unique, and so is your maintenance schedule. Use Activate to assign tasks, include instructions, and record meter readings with ease:
- Recurring Tasks: Set intervals tailored to your specific equipment and teams.
- Time-Based Escalations: Alert teams to take action on outstanding, high-priority tasks.
- Meter Monitoring: Record ad hoc readings and view trends in your operations command center.
Guided, Interactive Tasks
Staff turnover is unavoidable, but you can get teams up to speed faster by making Activate your team’s source of truth:
- Step-by-Step Instructions: Guide staff through maintenance to increase efficiency and completion rates.
- Expert Resources: Link helpful attachments, user manuals, and photos directly to the task.
- Mobile Empowerment: Enable teams to complete tasks on the go via the mobile app.
Automatic, Action-Based Workflows
Simplify communication with "Workflows"—alerts triggered by specific actions:
- Push Notifications: Alert team members the moment a new task is assigned.
- Team Routing: Trigger alerts to specific teams based on a tenant’s dropdown selection.
- Tenant Updates: Automatically notify tenants when the status of their service request changes.
- Multi-Channel Strategy: Choose from email, push notifications, or SMS to ensure messages are read.
Flexible Billing and Invoicing
Tailor your billing to meet the unique needs of every lease:
- Product Catalog: Manage items—from a light bulb to a service hour—with pre-set rates, markups, and taxes.
- Lease Exceptions: Apply pricing exceptions based on specific tenant agreements so teams always charge the correct amount.
Configured For Your Building, Scaled Across Your Portfolio
Activate allows you to meet a specific building’s needs while maintaining consistency across your entire portfolio. While each asset is operationalized individually, owners and managers get one central place to view insights, send communications, and create cohesive experiences across all buildings.
Quick FAQs
1. How does VTS Activate solve the "one-size-fits-all" problem?
Unlike static legacy tools, Activate features high configurability. This means the software is customized to match your existing team structures, specific building equipment, and unique lease agreements, rather than forcing you to change your processes.
2. Can I control what my vendors or tenants see in the app?
Yes. Through functionality-based permissions, you can curate a specific experience for different users. For example, you can allow tenants to see only their own work orders while ensuring vendors only see the specific tasks assigned to them.
3. Does configurability make it harder to manage a large portfolio?
Actually, it makes it easier. Activate allows you to configure unique workflows at the building level while providing a centralized command center for the portfolio. This gives you the best of both worlds: local flexibility and global oversight.
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Want to see the power of VTS Activates operations configurability for yourself? Learn more or get a demo.
